Stay Informed With HeatingSave | Page 12

Fears have been raised about fuel shortages in one English region.

The charity Citizens Advice (CA) said it helped clients with more than 96,000 fuel debt problems last year. It found that 40 per cent when asked are worried about paying their fuel bill.

One in two people say energy bills will put a strain on their finances this year. This was just one of the findings revealed during Big Energy Week from Citizens Advice.

A House of Commons motion urging action on fuel prices was approved by MPs without a vote, but it is not binding on ministers. One of the MPs said the government should scrap a planned increase in fuel duty to help “hard-working, vulnerable Britons”. Conservative MP Robert Halfon, who tabled the motion, stated that the government must show it is one “that cuts taxes for millions of British people and not just for millionaires”.

A consumer watchdog has claimed many of the cheapest gas and electricity deals are ignored by energy companies when speaking to customers. Researchers at Which? called energy suppliers and asked for the cheapest deal. For example, telesales staff at Southern Electric (part of the Scottish and Southern Energy Group) mentioned the cheapest tariff in just three of the 12 calls. The firm replied there was little price difference between the tariffs, but accepted it could learn from some points raised.

The coalition have today (Wednesday, December 8) introduced to parliament a bill to provide homeowners with four-figure loans to make their properties more energy-efficient. The energy security and green economy bill is expected to make power companies legally obliged to slash greenhouse gas emissions in their customers’ homes. Companies could be offering incentives, such as foreign holidays, for customers to take out ‘green deal’ loans.

Fears have sprung up about fuel shortages after one of the largest oil refineries in the UK fell into administration.

An academic says rising energy bills are causing more fuel poverty deaths. Professor John Hills has called for a new definition of the issue, where people with low incomes are forced into poverty by high fuel bills. His report discovered that in 2004, fuel-poor households faced a shortfall of £256 to heat their homes and avoid poverty, but in 2009 the figure rose to £402.

As experts doubt that pledges made at a United Nations summit in Copenhagen in December will actually deliver, it is no wonder people are concerned about the rise in greenhouse gases. On a domestic level, using new technology like a HeatingSave energy management system can cut down on central heating’s contribution to harmful emissions whilst saving money at the same time.

Global markets were thrown into turmoil as a result of tensions in Middle East countries where vast stocks of oil are kept. The rising price of oil, which could fuel further rises in already high inflation rates and hit corporate profits, affected stock markets. At the beginning of the week US shares, Asian stocks and European shares all closed heavily down.

A price comparison website has warned consumers they will face a 20 per cent rise in fuel bills this winter. Cold weather and rising gas prices are expected to push the average quarterly fuel bill up to a record £658.

Wholesale gas prices have risen dramatically over the last year, and are up 35 per cent since March 2010. It was only a matter of time before this increase would be passed on to retail prices. It has come as no surprise that supplier E.ON has joined four other energy companies in putting up prices and heaping more winter misery on suffering consumers. All suppliers have cited wholesale costs as the reason behind the price hikes.